Hellblade 2 studio will focus on shorter games with more gameplay focus

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 caught many off guard when the developers at Ninja Theory revealed that the main game is digital-only and about eight hours long. While there were fans who complained about this at first, the recent bloat of some titles has made many appreciate these shorter games. It seems that Ninja Theory feel the same, as they plan on making more of these shorter, more focused games.

Dom Matthews, the studio head of Ninja Theory, spoke with IGN about how there is an audience of gamers who appreciate shorter and more meaningful experiences. There’s nothing wrong with games that offer a 50 hour experience, but normal fans who don’t have a lot of time would prefer shorter titles to play.

“I think there’s a lot of pressure on people’s time these days and I think our fans, from what we hear from them, they enjoy a shorter game where our intention is that every step of that journey is meaningful… There’s an audience of people that want games that are focused.,” Matthews acknowledged.

You don’t see a lot of developers being honest about game length, so revealing that Hellblade 2 would be eight hours and digital-only was a brave move. Eight hours isn’t actually too short, that’s the same length as the first Hellblade, but the AAA space tends to go for 20 hours. That’s not always a good thing, as some games stretch out moments and make certain segments feel like filler.

Fans won’t have to wait too long to try out Senua’s next chapter, as Hellblade 2 is scheduled for release next month. It’s going to be a very interesting sequel, to say the least, and we hope that the devs are able to give fans that short but sweet experience they’ve been asking for.

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 will be coming out on Xbox Series systems and PC on May 21. Users with a Game Pass subscription will be able to get the game “for free” as part of the service.